Analysis of Measured and Calculated Response of a Cold-formed Steel Shear Panel Structure

Cold-formed steel buildings are a very popular structural system in the United States, including areas where strong earthquakes are expected. As part of a larger study of this structural system, shake table tests of a full-size, one bay two-story model were conducted on a shake table. The objectives of the research were to study the dynamic behavior of this structure under large amplitudes of motion and to determine if commonly used analytical models are able to predict the measured motion of the structure with reasonable accuracy. Initial attempts to reproduce the measured results were quite poor. This problem was a result of the inability of the shake table to properly control the table motion. This paper describes the process and results of trying to reconcile the measured and calculated responses of the model. In doing so, some light was also shed on the ability of commonly used models for the dynamic analysis of cold-formed steel buildings to predict their response to large earthquakes.